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Tecumseh Products names Harold Karp fourth CEO in five years

Ann Arbor-based Tecumseh Products Co. (Nasdaq: TECU) has its fourth CEO in five years, after its board of directors accepted the resignation of James Connor and gave recent board appointee Harold Karp an interim appointment.

The company announced Friday it has named Karp, a former Wolverine Tube Inc. president-COO who joined the Tecumseh board in January, as interim president and CEO. The company said in a statement it has begun an executive search for a permanent appointment, “with the anticipation that Karp will be a strong candidate” for the job.

Connor, 62, succeeded James Wainright as CEO in 2011, after joining Tecumseh as vice president and treasurer in January 2010. Karp joined Tecumseh’s board to fill a vacancy left by Steven Lebowski in December; the board also named Gary Cowger as its new chairman.

"Tecumseh will immediately benefit from Harold's strong leadership skills and global manufacturing expertise, which he has developed over the years," Cowger said in a statement.

"Harold has a wealth of experience leading worldwide manufacturing businesses, enhancing their quality and productivity while stimulating innovation and growth."

A maker of sealed compressors for the household and commercial refrigeration markets and for air conditioning systems, Tecumseh in March announced it was appointing a chief restructuring officer, Igor Popov, to report to both Connor and the six-member board.

Karp spent 18 years as an operations executive at New Jersey-based The Alpine Group Inc., which announced a plan to liquidate last year, or at its various portfolio companies, including almost seven years at Wolverine Tube.

That company manufactured custom engineered products for thermal management in the heating, ventilation and cooling systems industry and other markets.

“I am excited to be named the CEO of Tecumseh,” Karp said in a statement. “I believe in the strength of the Tecumseh brand and in its global distribution network, and I am committed to enhancing both through innovative product development. We are going to renew our focus on customer satisfaction and product quality with a sense of urgency to reaffirm Tecumseh as a global leader in our industry. With our new leaders in engineering, operations and restructuring, I am confident that we are well-prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities as they are presented to Tecumseh.”

Connor previously was a managing director at Southfield business advisory firm BBK Ltd. Wainright, his predecessor at Tecumseh, was promoted from vice president of operations to acting president in October 2009 after a newly-reconstituted board had terminated then-CEO Edwin Buker.